Jeff De Luna settled for a share of third place in the men’s division of the Asian 10-Ball Championships after losing in the semifinals on Wednesday, Dec. 18, in Doha, Qatar.

The 40-year-old veteran cue artist came up short in the crush and yielded to Chinese Taipei’s Chang Jung-Lin, 9-8, in a match that could have gone either way.

Chang eventually captured the title on the same day by trouncing Dang Jinhu of China, 11-6, in the 64-player tournament. Dang earlier clipped Ameer Ali of Iraq, 9-6, for a spot in the finals.

Overall, it was an impressive feat for De Luna, who was gunning for a second title after winning The Cue International 10-Ball Open in Indonesia this year.

Prior to his semis defeat, De Luna defeated compatriot Kyle Amoroto, 9-6, in the quarters, and Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Chia Chen, 9-6, in the Last 16.

He actually started the tournament with a 7-3 victory over United Arab Emirates’ Talal Al Balushi, 7-3, and Qatar’s Mohammed Alyazeedy, 7-2, before falling to Hijikata, 7-3, to be relegated to the losers’ qualification.

In women’s side, two-time world 10-ball champion Rubilen Amit and 2023 world 10-ball winner Chezka Centeno barged into the Last 16 following back-to-back victories also on Wednesday.

Amit first blanked Rana Nasserddine of Lebanon, 5-0, then routed Singapore’s Anran Yu, 5-2, while Centeno downed South Korea's Lee Harin, 5-3, and China’s Fu Xiaofang, 5-1, to advance.

The triumph arranged Amit a meeting with Indonesia’s Annabella Putri Yohana, who rose from the losers’ qualification with a 5-3 win over Fatemeh Homanyoon of Iran.

Centeno, for her part, set up a rematch with Lee, who also came from the losers’ bracket with a close 5-4 win over Taiwanese Wang Ling Wang.